Title: Batman: Detective Comics.
Story-arc: Greetings from Gotham.
Volume: 3.
Writer(s): Peter J. Tomasi.
Artist(s): Kyle Hotz, Doug Mahnke & Christian Duce.
Inker(s): Jaime Mendoza.
Colourist(s): David Baron & Luis Guerrero.
Letterer(s): Rob Leigh.
Publisher: DC Comics.
Format: Single Issues.
Release Date: May 5th, 2020.
Pages: 144.
Genre(s): Comics, Science-Fiction.
ISBN13: 9781401288617.
My Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆.
Previously in the Batman: Detective Comics (2016―) series:
Batman: Detective Comics (Vol. 1): Mythology by Peter J. Tomasi.
Batman: Detective Comics (Vol. 2): Arkham Knight by Peter J. Tomasi.
As part of Lex Luthor’s plans in the midst of Scott Snyder’s Justice League Justice/Doom War, DC Comics launched in 2019 the Year of the Villain comic book crossover event to focus on the incredible number of evil beings that have continuously attempted to wreak havoc on the world. Among all the ongoing comic book series that saw a couple of their issues utilized to launch and explore this event, writer Peter J. Tomasi’s Detective Comics was one of them. While his stories so far in this series have been less than stellar, maybe a quick detour to experiment with Batman’s villains could help him find his groove? Collecting issues #1006-1011 of the Detective Comics comic book series, he thus explores the unique traits of Batman’s rogue gallery while building up the upcoming story arc centered around Mr. Freeze.
What is Batman: Detective Comics: Greetings From Gotham about? This volume contains three distinct story-arcs. It begins with a two-issue story around the death of detective Jim Corrigan and the mysterious appearance of the Spectre who suddenly requires the help of the world’s greatest detective to identify the assassin. It then follows up with a one-shot story centered around the Joker as he organizes an explosive carnival extravaganza and offers us a tour of the various activities with Batman as a spectator until he decides it’s time to act. It then ends with a three-issue story arc around Floyd Lawton, also known as Deadshot, who goes on a kidnapping mission that targets Bruce Wayne. At the end of each issue, a short epilogue chapter is also included and presents us with Mr. Freeze’s latest project, hinting at the madness that will inevitably take place in the next volume.
It’s safe to say that writer Peter J. Tomasi doesn’t seem to have any good ideas to share with fans since his arrival on the Detective Comics comic book series. While it can be argued that this volume did suffer immensely from the crossover event, he still barely tried to create anything interesting out of it. It’s one thing to kick it off with a Spectre-centric story but it’s another when you don’t see its purpose by the end of it. Even the Joker story couldn’t have been blander than it was. His dialogue was banal and the whole development of the story was incredulous. And then comes the Deadshot adventure filled with inconsistencies and impossibilities. It was a story that not only wanted to give us a quick post-World-War-II history lesson, but also challenged the reader to not see all the dots lined up for us—and every character involved in that story—for us to connect and guess who was Batman.
The only thing saving this one from being a complete waste of time is the artwork. Each of the three stories had a different artist for it and they all do a decent job in illustrating the heroes, the villains, and the city (or island) in which everything takes place. Inevitably, they also employ different styles with no effort put into retaining similar designs, making it even clearer that this volume was nothing more than an anthology, and even closer to being simply fillers. The colourists also successfully give these mundane stories some life, especially through the Joker-centered issue that had more colours in it than a rainbow. All we can do now is hope that the next volume gives us a reason to follow writer Peter J. Tomasi on his Detective Comics shenanigans.
Batman: Detective Comics: Greetings From Gotham is a tedious and episodic volume with inconsequential stories dressed in pretty artwork.
Ugh….well, this is one to avoid I guess. Sorry this one wasn’t so stellar. It’s honestly quite amazing how you can make a story about one of the most interesting villains such as the Joker, a bland one. I guess that also takes talent lol😂 As you say though, the art does look very cool, so I guess that’s something. Oh well…at least I don’t have to add something to my reading list for a change, and I guess that’s nice😂
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Hahahah I couldn’t recommend this to anyone myself. There’s nothing rewarding about this read. I’m hoping that things will change a bit with the next volume. At least this does indeed make one less story to check out! 😛 Thanks for reading, Michel! 😀
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I haven’t been a fan of Tomasi’s Detective run, it just really hasn’t clicked with me at all for the most part although I will say that I thought the Mr. Freeze arc which you’ll be reading next I did think was actually very good! I thought the series was going to continue to be good but alas it takes a dip again after that…I’ve liked the Joker War tie-ins and look forward to Detective Comics #1,027 which is going to be an anthology featuring different creators (much like #1,000). I hold out hope for the title but honestly, it needs someone new at the helm methinks.
Awesome review Lashaan, I look forward to your thoughts on the next arc and how you find the Mr. Freeze story!
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You’re giving me hope, Chris. That’s dangerous! 😛 I do hope that it’ll be an all-around sound story with some potential. But after all the mediocre volumes we’ve got so far, I’d be surprised if Peter J. Tomasi could do any worse…
I haven’t heard anything about #1,027 but it sounds promising, like how #1,000 was. So far, the Detective Comics series feels subpar to the Batman series, almost like it was intentional or something… I hope they all get better ideas for the future though…
Thanks for reading, Chris! I appreciate it. 😀 Hey man, where are your own reviews at?! It’s been months since I’ve seen anything up on your blog! I hope you’re doing well and life hasn’t been too harsh on you lately.
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Well don’t get too hopeful mate, the Mr. Freeze story (at least for me) was a blip as it goes back to being mediocre after that other than the two recent Joker War tie-ins!
Ah man, I know, I’ve well and truly fallen off the horse – I’ve started working from home these past couple of months and just lost focus. Hopefully get back to it soon!
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3.99? Is that really how much individual comics are going for now? I found that the most shocking thing in this review….
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I know, right? More often 4.99 recently, too. I looked into it once and based on inflation they *should* be around $2.10~$2.30…
I’ve stopped buying single issues.
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If only they were 2 bucks each… That would be life-changer…
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I was wondering about inflation. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting!
Holy smokes, that is just price gouging. Goes to show the target audience aren’t kids anymore but the adults who the kids from the 80’s and 90’s turned into 😦
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I remember being shocked when they went from 25 cents to 35 cents. 😦
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Just the mere thought of that kind of pricing seems insane to me hahahahah
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Hahahahah! My memory of a price jump was from $1 to 1.25. Suddenly I had to decide if a comic was really worth it. I could buy a big bag of gummy worms at the 5 and Dime store next store.
Sigh. Icky, we’re getting old 😦
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Hahahahaaha it’s been like this for the past five years at least! 😛 It’s basically my “normal” pricing for comic books since I never bought them as a kid. In fact, the only thing I did get as a kid was a subscription to Shonen Jump which seemed very worthwhile considering how big those volumes were and all those classic manga series being included in there back in the day.
Like Wakizashi mentions, some issues even go up to 4.99 or 5.99 depending on many pages they are and if they’re one-shot stories…
It’s why I only pick up the Detective Comics and Batman comic book series as individual issues hahaha
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Man, that is brutal! I guess people can get used to anything, right?
Wakizashi’s comment about inflation was wicked eye opening however…
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Sad it didn’t turn out as good as that artwork looks. Great review!
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Thanks, Yesha! I appreciate that you took the time to read this review too! 🙂
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Well that Peter J Tomasi should just stop if I understand you Lashaan! Sorry it didn’t work for you!
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Right now, that’s all he’s got me thinking! I hope he’ll prove himself worthy of this comic book series with the next set of issues… Thanks for reading, Sophie! 🙂
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There’s little worse than a set of stories that read like filler, especially if it’s a series you have a lot of time invested in. You can come out feeling what did I just waste my time and money on? Well, here’s hoping you get more enjoyment out of the next set of issues.
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Absolutely. I’ve never been a fan of these types of volumes… It shows that they don’t really care about what’s being published as long as it’s published…
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Why oh why did they give the Detective Comics to Tomasi?! I’m sad now 😦 though I shouldn’t really, be, it’s just another confirmation of my opinion of DC these days 😛
Great review, Lashaan! Though I find it hard to believe you’re going to continue after this dud… 😉
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Hahahah it brings you too much pleasure to see these DC slumps! 😛
Yeh… I’m a hopeless fan of these series. Just praying that sooner or later the good ol’ days of original stories will suddenly grace us with their presence! 😀
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What can I say? Deep at heart I’m still Marvel girl 😄
I really admired Detective Comics – some of best Batman stories are there, and the characterization is usually much better there than in other Batman series. Plus I like the noir feel of this.
Well, I know I can count on you to alert me to all good DC stories, Lashaan! 😀
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